Sacrifice
by Kurai Hitokiri
Summary: In the midst of a cool night, a young teenager has lost almost everything... Still she presses on, determined to save the only thing that is left... Her younger brother. Takes place eighteen years before Childhood Ignorance.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, or any of these characters.

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone, my name is Kurai Hitokiri. This story is essentially what happened to poor Link Greene before the events of **Childhood Ignorance**, the story that I'm currently writing. I got this idea while doing homework, strange as that seems. (How could any normal get inspiration from doing homework? I'm just strange!) Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it!!

**Sacrifice**

By Kurai Hitokiri

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The night was deathly silent, the cold, piercing winds racked the lands like a pestilence, moaning their way through every tree and whipping through the moist grass.

For some, this was a time of rest, and for those that lurked in the shadows during the day, the moon was their sun, and the inky darkness was a comforting veil over feral eyes.

Wolves bayed to the moon, their callings forming an orchestra of otherworldly terror, and yet, somehow unmatched beauty. Smaller animals scurried from the confines of their burrows, their tiny, beady eyes flashing with something indescribable. Somewhere deep within the dark confines of the vast green forests, the beasts of the night emerged as if from nowhere, their horrible, bloody eyes flashed in the moonlight, their bloody pelts a symbol of the poor victims that had been slaughtered and then devoured by their vicious fangs.

In the midst of Hyrule field, a young girl, no older than thirteen, walked barefoot through muddy grass, her torn tunic and ripped, tattered pants were hardly enough to cover her thin, beautiful body.

Her hair was looked as though it had been cut with a jagged stone, falling around her neck in thin brown curls. Her young face was dirt covered and bloody, cuts all around her face oozing the crimson liquid, however, if one looked close enough, if she were to have been properly cleaned, her beauty would have been breathtaking.

Blue eyes shone from beneath mud crusted bangs, as feral and proud as a mighty wolf… eyes that should not belong to one so young… eyes that contained a large amount of sorrow and hatred.

In her bruised and cut arms there was a bundle of bottle green fabric. Tiny arms reached out toward the girl and a shrill and fierce cry erupted from the tiny bundle.

The swaddling fabric fell back to reveal a tiny baby boy, his ears as pointed as a vulcan's, his tiny wisps of hair were dirty blonde, and his eyes were as proud and blue as the young girl's.

He cried in anger and protest, almost as though instead of being wrapped in fine cloth, he was wrapped in sandpaper that was scratching him.

The girl, frowning, took a finger and placed it into the baby's mouth, letting him suck hungrily at it, searching for food. However, no good came of it, the child's mother was long dead, and with it, his first meal.

"What a pitiful thing you are," the girl murmured as she limped on her injured leg, staring down into the baby's eyes, "And you claim to be of my mother and father… What a shame you are to me, and to our family's good name."

The baby's only response was to suck every harder at his sister's finger, his eyes scrunching in concentration, his little hands grasping the larger one, clinging to it desperately, as though it were his last lifeline.

"You must stay quiet…" the girl whispered to the baby, looking ahead. "We must make it to Hyrule Castle Town… We are nearly there, I can see it over this hill…"

On the horizon, the tall, looming towers of Hyrule Castle pierced the heavens, a testament to those all around. Even taller were the towers of the Temple of Time, its white marble towers glowing faintly in the dim moonlight.

The girl limped slowly but surely, holding her brother close to her chest, as though to shield him from the horrors of the night. After all she had gone through this night, losing her mother, being attacked by bandits and monsters, nothing could possibly stop her from reaching her destination.

However, the unseen dangers of the night were slowly creeping upon her… hidden, silent, and deadly, like an assassin cloaked in the colors of night, blade raised high above his head, ready to come down in a violent sweep.

A deadly snarl pierced the night air, and instantly the girl stopped, her form as rigid as a statue.

She looked behind her, and there, ready and down on all fours, was a Wolfos.

Its glowing red eyes glared at her hungrily, drool and blood falling from its fanged snarl. Its gray pelt shone in the moonlight, letting the girl see every little muscle tensed and coiled, ready to pounce upon her and rip her already mutilated body to shreds.

The girl bit down into her cheek, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth as she cursed wildly to herself. There was no way she could outrun the beast in such a state, if it were any other time, it wouldn't have been a problem, but her stamina was depleted, she didn't even have her faithful large sword with her… She would die… No, not before she got her brother to a secure place!

Her blue eyes narrowed with coldness, and her lips drew back into a snarl, almost as frightening as the Wolfos's own.

For a moment, the two stood there, eyes transfixed upon on another. One felt nothing but pure bloodlust while the other felt nothing but the desperation to survive…

The desperation to live for her brother.

The Wolfos leapt forward, faster than the wounded girl could comprehend. She might have been able to dodge it, but instead of the intended target, it was going for something else… For her baby brother.

Foreseeing the wolf's trick, the girl quickly turned to her back, wrapping her arms tightly around the little bundle in her arms, eyes closed and her muscles tensed for the impact of the claws.

She felt pain course through her body as the claws ripped through flesh and muscle, blood squirting freely from the gash and wetting the ground.

As she fell to the ground, the girl did not cry out in pain, she simply smiled, her world swimming before her in a flurry of darkness. She was ready to die… but maybe her brother would survive… Perhaps the Wolfos would ignore him, since he was so small…

She braced herself for the ending blow, but it never came, instead she felt warm blood spill down upon her still form, and the sharp cry from the Wolfos as someone tore it.

Warm hands lifted her from the ground and supported her head. Fine fabric rubbed against her bare skin, and strange chants sounded. Warm aura filled her body, but still the pain did not go away... in fact, it seemed to increase with every waking moment.

The girl opened her eyes, to see a young woman looking down at her, eyes filled with worry.

The woman's face was beautiful, pale skin shining in the dim moonlight, every crease of her face filled with untold wisdom. Black hair cascaded down her shoulders, and behind long bangs, strange gray eyes peered at her with concern.

Yes… this person could help…

"Please… please… save him… save my little brother…" she murmured, her voice thick with blood. She felt her brother shift in her arms as he slept on, peacefully unaware that his only family left was dying. "I don't care about myself… just save him…"

The woman's eyes widened with slight surprise as she looked at the slumbering child, a childish smile plastered across his chubby face as he dreamt on.

"Please… please… I-I'm begging you…" the girl whispered, eyes filling with tears and blood oozing from her mouth.

The woman's eyes softened, and she took the child into her arms and looked upon him, brushing a blonde lock out of his sleeping eyes.

"I shall find him a place to stay… He will be well loved, where I send him," the woman whispered, "I'll see to your body after you pass… what is your name, young one?"

"Amelia…" the girl said softly. As she heard the woman's melodious and soothing voice, she knew that she could trust this stranger with her brother… she could rest easy in the afterlife knowing that he was in the right hands. Her eyes were getting heavier… the feeling of the wet, cold grass and pain constricting her chest was fading away… was this dying? It wasn't as bad as she had envisioned it…

"And your brother… what is his name?" the woman asked, sensing the girl's time was coming.

"Link…" Amelia said hoarsely, "His name is Link…" With a bloody hand, the girl reached out to her little brother, their flesh meeting for a last time.

A faint smile spread across her lips as her eyes closed, her unsteady breathing was evening out.

"Link… I'm so sorry…" Slowly, her hand fell to the ground, and her breathing stilled… Amelia was dead.

The young woman looked down upon the girl with great sadness, getting to her feet and cradling the sleeping infant within a gentle and loving embrace.

"…I don't think anyone could have shone more courage than you, young one," the woman said, speaking to the corpse as though it were still alive. "I shall never forget what you've done for your brother… Rest easy in the afterlife knowing that he is in safe hands… I foresee what he will become… I've seen who he is before… Strange how fate would do this to him twice… To make him lose everything he loves…"

The young woman looked upon the little boy and smiled, watching him suck on his tiny thumb and slumber on without care.

"Yes… your name is Link…"

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**Author's Note:** Well, that was just very, very strange… Anyway, that was just a short little story. I hope it wasn't cruddy!!! Please review and tell me what you think!!!


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